


if you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same

by Argentina



Category: RWBY
Genre: Character Analysis, Character Development, Character Study, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Drabble, Ficlet, Gift Fic, Introspection, M/M, Purple Prose, Relationship Study, Snippets, i lowkey don't even know what to tag, omg that's a tag, this is basically just a bunch of purple prose slapped into a fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22320328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Argentina/pseuds/Argentina
Summary: For the first time in a very, very long time, Clover has found someone that has managed to capture his attention and keep it.It’s a type of interest that sparks passion, a will to dig deeper and dive into what makes Qrow Branwen the man he is. It’s a fire he needs to toss kindling into. It’s a hurricane he’s trying to get to the center of. It’s a new goal to achieve, something different to keep him running.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Clover Ebi, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 74





	if you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Meepigiri](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meepigiri/gifts).



> gifted to meepigiri b/c they're such a genuine person like wot? thank you for all of those comments you've left on my works (they really did make my day), and i hope you enjoy this fic i wrote up because i was thinking too hard about the ship name "fair game" and decided that i needed some deeper analysis in why this is
> 
> i'm literally reading this over rn and i don't know what i'm doing   
> how did i churn out 1.4k words of trying to sound smart when i can barely figure out how to rephrase "according to the text" in my english class
> 
> title from the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling

It’s a fulfilling life, but it’s dull. Clover always needs more. He constantly needs something new, something different to strive for. It’s what keeps him ticking, his blood flowing, his pulse thrumming. He needs it to keep on going. 

His entire life is a positive feedback loop. Everything he does is one step forward; it feeds his drive and pushes him to continue. He runs on the energy of his past. He’s dependent on what he has done, and he does what he knows he will require in the future. It’s an endless, flawless cycle. He has the entire system perfected, every screw and cog in place. He Clover Ebi, and he knows exactly what he’s doing. 

He’s pragmatic, and sticks to facts. He doesn’t dream, for dreaming is striving for something that isn’t completely there, acting when there’s no way to be tenacious. He needs certainty, because being certain is being reassured, knowing that there is something definite. Something real. 

He does as he is told, he does what’s best. He’s immaculate, he’s impeccable. He’s what everyone else isn’t. He’s what everyone else looks up to. 

~

Qrow Branwen lives off of uncertainty. He doesn’t know what tomorrow will hold, but he doesn’t necessarily care either. He likes it that way. He wants to be able to wake up and not know whether a tragedy will strike or whether he’ll end up staying alive to see another day come and go. He doesn’t mind on the sidelines, watching the hustle and bustle of the world, seeing everyone go along with their tasks. It’s mostly the same. 

It’s for the best. He loiters around, waiting. Waiting for something that isn’t all there, something that he doesn’t fully believe in. Something that could be real, or maybe only the notion of it is real. He can’t grasp it. He can only believe, he can only dream. His entire life is a series of ‘maybes’, and this is just another one of them. 

He watches his nieces grow up. He watches Tai grow into a new person in the process. As they come together, his relationship with Raven falls apart. It’s how it was always meant to be, he supposes. She’s never been fond of him, and the signs of this never working out has always been clear. 

They’re opposites, he’s noticed. His entire existence is a joke. His semblance is a joke. 

He’s almost envious of her. Almost. Not her personality, not her nature, not her power, but her semblance. He’s jealous of it. It could’ve easily been his, and yet she’s the one in possession of those portals, the ones that can bring her to those she’s tied to within an instant. And yet she refuses to use them, refuses to acknowledge her own family. She’s bound by blood, and that won’t ever change. Only her viewpoint can. And she won’t do it. 

Qrow has learned to love those that he cares about from a distance. Never interacting, but always vigilant. Always there, ensuring their safety, and only interfering when absolutely necessary. He’s been flying solo ever since he could remember, and he’s become accepting of it. He just wishes it could be different. 

He wishes his connections could be solid. But maybe a life of facing the unknown suits him more.

~

Clover trains like there’s no tomorrow, as if all the time he has to hone his skills and improve to be the best version of himself is now. He’s focused; his mind is concentrated on nothing but the present when he’s fighting. One wrong step, and it would throw his plan completely off the rails. He has it all rehearsed in his mind, all practiced and memorized in his heart. He knows what he needs to do, he just needs to do it right when the time comes. 

He has contingency plans mapped out, he adds details and changes in moves in order to efficiently counter his opponent. He never goes overboard, never does more than what is immediately necessary, because it’s a weakness to go all out. It’s a mistake to show his enemies, or even his teammates what he is truly capable of. They cannot know more than what he shows, and he makes sure to only display what he wants them to see. He knows himself better than anyone else, and it’s going to stay that way. 

He doesn’t open up to people, but gives the illusion of doing so. He says what he needs to make himself trustworthy. He’s warm, welcoming, and easygoing with those that he cares about the most, giving them a sense of safety and security that leaves them comfortable, but still on their toes and ready to act on instinct. It’s for the greater good. He needs the ace ops to know that there can always be an infiltrator in the building, an enemy disguised as a friend.

He would never do them harm, but they can’t know that. Doubt ensures survival. 

~

Qrow can control who he visits and comes close to, but he can’t control the converse. Ruby is fond of him, and she sees him as a role model, as someone she would like to match up to one day. His fighting techniques are hers, and even her weapon is designed after his. She enjoys spending time with him, that much is clear. Yang is a little less obsessive and more toned down, but they’re both always just as happy to see him anytime, anywhere. He’s grateful. 

He tries to do as much as he can for the two of them, but he leaves for months at a time, he sets off to do his own things and checks back in sporadically. Not because he wants to, but because he knows he has to. He has an obligation to keep them safe. He’ll forever be indebted to Summer. 

He keeps a balance between solitude and company. There’s an equilibrium he must maintain between the good and bad in the world, and it’s not easy when he’s a carrier of both. 

~

Clover thinks Qrow peculiar when he first meets him. He seems to understand things before Clover ever explains it. He knows how to fight well, and he’s always two steps ahead, just like Clover. He doesn’t do things the obvious way or the best way, but always the strategic way. A sacrifice now for the success of a future move. The entire training ground is an immense chess board, and Qrow is experienced in playing it. 

The two of them aren’t solely controllers of the board; they’re also pieces of the whole. Qrow knows how to turn the tide, how to shift the game in his direction. Clover knows how to counter his attacks, he understands how to simultaneously deflect a move and put something of his own into it. He’s not only standing his ground, but also pushing back. 

They’re equals. They balance each other out; they give and they take, and everything comes back to zero. The weakness of one is the strength of another, and slowly but surely, the gaps are starting to fill in. Everything falls in line; they’re helping each other on the field, picking up new moves and giving tactics away. This is what training is all about. It’s about learning rather than winning, and neither of them mind the outcome of the match. They’re in it for the experience. 

Clover is smooth, and his motions are fluid. He can swing and kick effortlessly, landing hits and never pausing when he’s done with one thing. He’s constantly transitioning to his next plan regardless of whether his previous one had been effective or not. Qrow can’t always elude his stikes, but he can react. 

Qrow’s good with tempo. He can speed up and slow down whenever he pleases, so swiftly that Clover almost misses it each time. He can put all of his strength into a single hit, or he can make a graze so gentle that Clover can barely feel it. He can be predictable in which move he chooses sometimes, but it always, _always_ ends up harder or softer than Clover expects, and it leaves him breathless, enthralled. 

For the first time in a very, very long time, Clover has found something that has managed to capture his attention and keep it. It’s a type of interest that sparks passion, a will to dig deeper and dive into what makes Qrow Branwen the man he is. It’s a fire he needs to toss kindling into. It’s a hurricane he’s trying to get to the center of. It’s a new goal to achieve, something different to keep him running. 

And maybe, just maybe, they have more in common than Clover ever thought. After all, separation and integration are two sides of the same coin.

**Author's Note:**

> i feel bad if i don't wear clothes that ppl like gifted me or bought for me and now i'm here at my laptop with a flannel shirt tucked into cargo shorts and on a scale of how dumb i look i'm an 11/10
> 
> each time i look at my writing i cringe more so this isn't even edited (just like all of my other fics). also i realized that the title has basically nothing to do with the story but like??? i was going to name it juxtaposition or something but it's too short and i want something pretty
> 
> happy pre-mlk jr. day to anyone reading! fun fact: on friday, in my school's morning announcements, the students running it were like going around outside the cafeteria and interviewing other kids to see if they knew what the speech by mlk jr was called and someone deadass said "we the people" and i died 
> 
> (and then afterwards he's like "but we the people have a dream!" and well he's not wrong)


End file.
